Yi Seung-hun (Catholic)

Life

Yi Seung-hun was born in 1756 in Yakhyeon, Banseok-bang, Hanseong (present-day Jungnim-dong, Jung District, Seoul), the eldest son of Yi Dong-uk. His maternal uncle was Yi Ga-hwan, and Jeong Yak-yong was his brother-in-law. He passed the jinsa examination in 1780 but devoted himself to scholarship rather than to an official career. Around this time he encountered Western Learning (Seohak, the Western sciences and Catholicism that reached Korea by way of China), which young scholars of the Namin (Southerners) faction were then studying, and he became close to Yi Byeok.

In the winter of 1783, when his father was appointed secretary (seojanggwan, the official responsible for keeping the mission's records) of the winter solstice embassy (dongjisa, the regular embassy sent to Qing China around the winter solstice), Yi accompanied him to Beijing. At a Catholic church there he learned the doctrines of the faith by exchanging written questions and answers with the missionaries, and in early 1784 he received baptism from the Jesuit Father Jean-Joseph de Grammont. According to tradition, the baptismal name Peter expressed the hope that he would become the foundation stone of the church in Korea.

While serving as magistrate of Pyeongtaek, he lost his office during the Sinhae Persecution of 1791, and in 1795 he was sent into exile. During the Sinyu Persecution of 1801 he was singled out as the leader of the Catholics and arrested along with Yi Ga-hwan, Jeong Yak-yong, and others. On April 8 of that year he was beheaded outside Seosomun Gate together with Jeong Yak-jong and others. His son Yi Sin-gyu and his grandson Yi Jae-ui were also martyred in 1868.

Ministry and Accomplishments

In the spring of 1784, Yi Seung-hun returned home with catechisms, a crucifix, sacred images, and other items. That winter, at Yi Byeok's house near Supyo Bridge, he baptized Yi Byeok, Gwon Il-sin, and others. The believers gathered at the home of Kim Beom-u in Myeongnye-bang (present-day Myeong-dong), but in the spring of 1785 they were discovered by the Ministry of Punishments.

In 1786, together with his companions, he established what is known as the "pseudo-clergy system," under which the believers appointed clergy from among themselves without valid ordination. For about a year Yi administered the sacraments as though he were a priest. Realizing, however, that this was wrong, he ceased these activities. He then worked to bring missionaries into the country, for example by sending Yun Yu-il as a secret envoy to the church in Beijing.

Influence on the Korean Church

The Catholic Church in Korea regards 1784, the year Yi Seung-hun returned after his baptism and baptized his companions, as the year of its founding. In 2024 it commemorated the 240th anniversary of that founding. The Korean Catholic Church presents as a distinctive feature of its history the fact that Joseon scholars embraced the faith on their own initiative before any missionaries arrived, and it identifies Yi Seung-hun as the starting point of that history. In September 2024 a shrine memorial hall was opened on the site of his former grave in Jangsu-dong, Namdong District, Incheon. For a fuller account, see History of the Catholic Church in Korea.

Assessment

Yi Seung-hun is regarded as the figure who opened the door to Catholicism in Korea. However, because he declared on several occasions during persecutions that he renounced the faith (apostasy), there has been long-standing debate over whether he can be considered a martyr. The history of the Korean Catholic Church written by the French missionary Charles Dallet records that he died an apostate. He was also left out of the 103 martyrs canonized by John Paul II in 1984 and the 124 beatified in 2014. Canonization is the official declaration that a person is a saint, and beatification the official declaration that a person is blessed. Jeong Yak-jong and others executed on the same day were beatified in 2014.

There are opposing views as well. Some interpret the Chinese poem he is said to have recited just before his execution, "The moon sets yet remains in the heavens; the water rises yet the pond runs dry" (月落在天 水上池盡), as a confession of unwavering faith. Others argue that his wavering must be understood in light of the conflict between the Confucian social order and the Church's prohibition of ancestral rites at the time (see Ancestral Rites and Memorial Services). The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea currently includes him among the 133 candidates for beatification and refers to him as a "Servant of God."